Coating apparatus



E. L. A. SA VY. COATING APPARATUS APPLICATION FILED DEC-3|;1919.

1,341,023. a n ed May 25, 1920.

IN VEN TOR.

WITNESSES: ZmZ'ZeL.

A TTORNE YS.

A. 0% fi w PATENT OFFICE,

EMILE LOUIS ALFRED SAvY, OF COURBEVOIE, FRANCE.

con'rme armimrrus.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented May 25, 1920.

Application filed December 81, 1919. Serial No. 348,562.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, EMILE LOUIS ALFRED SAVY, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing at Courbevoie, Le Department de la Seine, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coating Apparatus, of which the following is a speclfication,

This invention relates to coating apparatus and particularly to apparatus for covering biscuits, confectionery, or llke artlcles with a layer of coating material such as chocolate, icings, and the like. The lnvention furthermore relates to an lmprovement in the coating apparatus disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,309,106 granted to me on July 8, 1919.

In the coating of confectlonery, biscuits, and the like,-considerable difficulty has been experienced in covering the bottoms of the articles. The bottom surfaces of biscuits are seldom entirely smooth and flat but ordinarily have irregularities therein, such as, small holes and indentations. Candy cores frequently have similar irregularities in their bottom surfaces. It has been found difficult with the ordinary coating devices to fill these holes in the bottom surfaces of the articles and to obtain a smoothly coated bottom surface when irregularities are present. Each irregularity in the under surface of the articles forms an air pocket and unless the air is expelled from the pocket, the coating material will not readily adhere.

The object of this invention is to provide in a coating apparatus means to first completely coat articles, such as, blscuits, confectionery, and the like in an improved manner, and devices to thereafter act upon the bottom surfaces of the coated articles and pack the coating material into all the indentations in said surfaces, characterized in that the coating material after being first applied is worked into the indentations in an improved and eflicient manner.

The invention is disclosed for the purpose of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevational showing diagrammatically a coating apparatus embodying the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a modification of the invention.

Referring to these drawings in detail, a conveyer or belt a of'coarse texture, such as as a wire belt, for example, 1s driven by a roll I) and extends between the latter and another roll (not shown) to the right of roll 6. Below the wire belt a is a belt 0 of fine texture, such as a canvas belt, for example, which is impermeable to the coating maadjacent relation and are held from sagging by a suitable plate 6.

A tank 7, to which coating material, such as chocolate or the like may be supplied, has a spout 9 arranged to discharge coating material above the Wire belt a, and the amount of discharge may be regulated as desired by a plate or gate valve h. Tank 7 is also provided with a spout i which is arranged in spaced relation below the spout g and terminates closely adjacent roll I). The spout i discharges in a substantially horizontal direction and substantially tangential to roll 6 and in the plane of the wire belt a.

The articles to be coated, which for the purposes of illustration may be considered as biscuits, are fed into the machine by a suitable conveyer j which delivers the biscuits to the belt a at substantially the same time as the coating material, such as chocolate, for example is delivered by the spout i. The latter forms a stream it of chocolate on the wire belt a and the biscuits Z float upon the stream and are met by chocolate from the spout g, so that the biscuits Z are completely enveloped by the chocolate. If desired, the coating from spout 9 may be entirely shut off by valve plate It so that one side only .of the biscuit will be coated.

The structure so far described is substantially the same as that disclosed in the above-identified patent. Much of the detail of the known structure has been purposely omitted from these drawings and this description asunnecessary to an understanding of the invention. For a more complete disclosure of the coating apparatus reference is made to the above-named patent.

This invention is more particularly concerned with treating previously "coated articles, especially the coated bottom surfaces of the articles, so that the coating is worked into the indentations in the bottom surfaces of the articles to expel the air therein, whereby the coating may better adhere to the articles, and so that the indentations are filled and packed with coating material,' whereby the coated surfaces of the articles may be made smooth irres ectlve of the irregularities in the articles t emselves.

One advantageous means of accomphshing this result is illustrated in Fig. 1 and consists of a circular brush 5 which is mounted below belt a beyond the roll 03. Brush 5 may be connected by the gearing shown to roll 03, or may be driven in any other suitable means, to rotate in the direction indicated in' Fig. l. The axis of brush 5 is arranged at a distance below belt a less than the radius of the brush, and the latter revolves closely adjacent roll at. The brush 5 picks up some of the excess coating material, as it is about to fall from roll d, and carries it" under the biscuits Z, and into the indentations m in the underside of the latter. The bristles of brush 5 push through the coarse meshes of the wire belt a and apply the chocolate to the recesses and thoroughly work the chocolate lnto the latter to expel the air whereby a thorough adhesion of the chocolate to the indented surfaces may be obtained. The action is analogous to a hand painting operation, the coatingmaterial being thoroughly worked into the recesses by a brush in much the same manner as it would be done by hand. As each recess in the bottom of biscuits l passes the brush 5, it is completely filled with chocolate, and the latter is worked and packed therein in an eflicient manner.

Some of the excess coating material passes around roll d between the latter and brush 5 as indicated in the drawing and some travels along plate 6 as will be described. Just beyond the path of rotation of brush 5 and below the wire belt a is a stationary plate 6, and some of the excess coating material is carried by brush 5 onto the plate and therealong. As the biscuits Z pass over plate 6, their lower surfaces are re-garnished, if necessary on account of removal of portions of the bottom coating by brush 5, with the coating material on the plate to insure a smooth and completely coated surface. Excess material not used in regarnishing the surfaces of the biscuits may fall from the forward end of the plate, as indicated.

Another means of filling the recesses m with coating material is illustrated in Fig.

I 2. The revolving brush 5 is replaced by one or more cylinders 7, which are geared to roll d as indicated, so that all revolve in the same direction. The several cylinders 7 of the series are mounted in closely adjacent relation and the first roll of the series is arranged to move closely adjacent roll (1. The first cylinder 7 picks up chocolate as it is about to leave roll d and carries it upwardly in under the biscuits Z. Succeeding rolls act similarly to pick up chocolate from the preceding rolls, and the result is a continuous undulation of a body of coating material below the biscuit. The chocolate is made to move as waves and the wave or; undulatory motion carries chocolate into the indentations m and works and packs it into the latter in much the same manner as that already described.

It is to be understood that suitable means may be provided to receive the excess coating material falling from roll cl, brush 5, plate 6, or cylinders 7. All the parts described may be suitably housed within a casing in the bottom of which is a container into which certain portions of the excess coating material may fall, other portions being arranged to fall into a trough n and thence conveyed to said container, all as disclosed in the above named patent.

Thus, improved means for working coating material into the indentations in the surfaces of coated articles hasbeen provided, which is characterized by working and packing the material in the indentations to obtain close adhesion to the surfaces thereof.

The invention has been described herein for illustrative purposes, but the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

I claim- 1. In combination, a confection conveying means, means to deliver a sheet material uponand along said means, means to feed confections upon said sheet, whereby the confections may be coated, a second conveying means impermeable to coating material arranged to travel from said delivering means a short distance along and in under the first conveying means to carry excess coating material, and rotary means at the point where the excess material leaves the second conveying means to work the coating fast to and into close contact with the confections.

2. In combination, a confection conveyin means, means to discharge coating materifi upon said means to completely coat confections thereon, a second conveying means impermeable to coating material and arranged to travel from said discharging means a short distance along andin under the first conveying means to carr a stream of excess material below the con ections, means at the point where the excess material leaves the second conve ing means to take part of said excess and work it with the previously applied coating into close contact with the confections.

3. In combination, a confection conveying means, means to deliver a sheet of coating material upon and along said means, means to feed confections upon said sheet, whereby the confections may be coated, a second conveying means impermeable to coating maof coating and rotary terial arranged to travel from said delivering means a short distance along and in under the first conveying means to carry ex-. cess coating material, and a rotary brush at the point where the excess material leaves the second conveying means to Work part of such excess and the coating fast to and into close contact with the confections.

4. In combination, a confection conveying means, means to deliver a sheet, of coating material upon and along said means, means to feed confections upon said sheet, whereby the confections may be coated, a second conveying means impermeable to coating material arranged to travel from said delivering means a short distance along and in under the first conveying means to carry excess coating material, and rotary means at the point Where the excess material leaves the second conveying means to work it with the coating fast to and into close contact with the confections, and means beyond the rotary means to take excess coating material therefrom and carry it in under the coating the confections.

EMILEILIQUIS ALFRED sAvY;

previously worked into close contact with 25 

